Kritzerland has announced two new CDs, featuring three previously unreleased scores by two Oscar-winning composers -- one release featuring David Shire's score (including material not used in the final film) for the 1981 Burt Reynolds comedy PATERNITY; and a disc pairing two scores by Pinocchio's two-time Oscar-winner Leigh Harline -- the suburban drama NO DOWN PAYMENT, directed by Martin Ritt, and the comedy THE REMARKABLE MR. PENNYPACKER.

The latest release from Buysoundtrax presents the score to the 1987 film version of Frederic Forsyth's thriller THE FOURTH PROTCOL, directed by John Mackenzie (The Long Good Friday), which put British agent Michael Caine in a race-against-time with Russian spy Pierce Brosnan. The orchestral suspense score was composed by Lalo Schifrin; it was among the first scores released on CD but has been out of print for decades.

Intrada plans to release two CDs next week.

This week it was announced that Ennio Morricone has had to cancel his previously postponed concerts in the United States due to health concerns following his recent back injury.

May 23 - Michel Colombier born (1939)
May 23 - William Stromberg born (1964)
May 23 - George Bruns died (1983)
May 23 - Recording sessions begin for John Ottman's score for The Invasion (2007)
May 24 - Jerry Fielding begins recording his score for Shirts/Skins (1973)
May 24 - Duke Ellington died (1974)
May 25 - Pierre Bachelet born (1944)
May 25 - Star Wars released in theaters (1977)
May 25 - Alien released in theaters (1979)
May 26 - Miles Davis born (1926)
May 26 - William Bolcom born (1938)
May 26 - Nicola Piovani born (1946)
May 26 - Howard Goodall born (1958)
May 26 - Jerry Goldsmith begins recording his score for The Satan Bug (1964)
May 26 - Earle Hagen died (2008)
May 28 - Vertigo is released in theaters (1958)
May 29 - Erich Wolfgang Korngold born (1897)
May 29 - Masaru Sato born (1928)
May 29 - Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov born (1936)
May 29 - David McHugh born (1941)
May 29 - Danny Elfman born (1953)
May 29 - Ed Alton born (1955)
May 29 - J.J. Johnson begins recording his score for Cleopatra Jones (1973)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

CHINESE PUZZLE - Christophe Minck, Loik Dury

"Bringing an appreciative outsider’s perspective to the sights, sounds and polyglot energy of New York, Klapisch and his collaborators ensure that the two hours whiz by decoratively and entertainingly, buoyed by the jazzy, soulful, vocal-driven score of Christophe Minck and Loik Dury, both returning from 'Russian Dolls.'"

Charles Gant, Variety

THE DOUBLE - Andrew Hewitt

"As [writer-director Richard] Ayoade proved with his debut, he's got a wonderful eye for framing, and he doesn't waste an inch here, teaming with Wilson to create some truly striking scenes. And narratively, 'The Double' matches its visual consistency with a narrative rhythm that is utterly engaging. Parallel imagery, repeated shots, incredible sound design (the thrum of white noise never sounded this good) and almost musical editing come together beautifully to perfectly depict the life of Simon James as it comes apart piece by piece. (A special note also has to go out to Andrew Hewitt's truly standout score.)"

Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist

"Ayoade's care with the movie's craft is loving and infectious -- the feel of a hermetic, Stygian netherworld is perfectly achieved on the budget, and a grippingly nervy chamber score by Andrew Hewitt keeps it ticking along."

Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

"Weaving a tale that is somehow funny and frightening at the same time, Ayoade adopts an elaborate audiovisual idiom to convey psychological derangement: frequent cuts between brisk tracking shots and detached high angles; diegetic groans of metallic apparatuses and the Bernard Herrmann-esque score by composer Andrew Hewitt; and by the end, something like the filmic equivalent of free indirect discourse in writing."

Morgan Wilcock, Film Comment

"Those production values can be mesmerizing. 'The Double' unfolds in an underground city where daylight never penetrates; Dostoyevsky would feel right at home. The prevailing colors are queasy yellows and mordant blues, and the chilly classical runs on the soundtrack hurtle the hero and his malevolent double from one scene to the next."

Ty Burr, Boston Globe

"Relatively straightforward as that may sound, it scarcely captures the heightened expressionistic intensity with which 'The Double' unfolds onscreen. The atmosphere is dank and claustrophobic, the action unfolding against what seems to be a permanent nightscape. David Crank’s stripped-down production design, more retro than futuristic, looks at once drab and ravishing as lensed by d.p. Erik Alexander, who accents every shabby interior with a vibrant burst of color. From start to finish, the loosely handheld camera seems to mirror Simon’s unsettled psyche, feverishly darting and cutting around the action, often operatically amped up by Andrew Hewitt’s thunderous orchestral score."

"The monster isn't overplayed, either. Unlike so many CGI-fests, Godzilla is a minimum participant, popping up in the perfect moments, with a presence that’s always felt, in large part through the personality of Alexandre Desplat’s ('The King’s Speech') dark score."

Kirk Baird, Toledo Blade

"Signing on Gareth Edwards to direct this huge Hollywood tent-pole turned out to be a smart decision, even though the relatively inexperienced Edwards had only directed one other feature: the micro-budgeted 'Monsters,' for which he created all the effects himself. Here Edwards marshals all the 3-D creature effects admirably, but the human interactions are flat and uninvolving. The thundering music score by Alexandre Desplat is an atypical one for this composer and often competes with rather than enhances the action."

Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

"Honoring the eerie music of the original, this film's score by Alexandre Desplat ('Argo') is equally menacing, rich with horns that complement the consistently serious tone of the movie."

Jessica Herndon, Associated Press

"As monster spectacle, 'Godzilla' is fine and should please any monster movie fanatics. It looks good, sounds good, the creature looks totally convincing and the scale of it can be awe-inspiring (though Alexandre Desplat’s score gets a little too melodramatic when Godzilla shows up)."

Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist

"Predictable and two-dimensional, 'Godzilla' is still not without moments of beauty. Alexandre Desplat's score is restrained and evocative with hints of kaiji movies past. Not only is the titular beast sympathetic, he has a sense of style, emerging elegantly through clouds of smoke to take out another adversary."

Paul Macinnes, The Guardian

"And while the U.S. military (led by David Strathairn) insists on trying to use force to keep them apart — never mind that these monsters literally eat nukes for breakfast — scientist Ichiro (Ken Watanabe) and his sidekick Vivienne (Sally Hawkins) know that mother nature has provided a creature to restore balance. Cue the Big G's theme music. (Actually, don't; Alexandre Desplat provides an often-rousing score, but he's chosen not to reference the familiar Akira Ifukube theme from the original Godzilla epics.)"

Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

"The movie gets off to a cracking start, a title sequence depicting nuclear tests, Darwinian theory, sea monster illustrations and redacted information all to Alexandre Desplat’s flash-and-thunder score. Yet, unlike 99.9 per cent of recent blockbusters, the film then admirably slows down to set up story strands of (chillingly mounted) family tragedy, anomalous seismic activity, frustrated interrogations, perplexed scientists and all-round conspiracy."

Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

"Their movie may be highly calculated, but at least it doesn't feel soulless; as in Spielberg's blockbusters, the sets (decorated by Elizabeth Wilcox) are filled with quirky bric-a-brac, bringing a lived-in dimension to the big-budget spectacle, and Edwards displays a welcome playfulness in some of his flamboyant camera movements. Alexandre Desplat's score is an enjoyable pastiche in itself, drawing from John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, and Akira Ifukube's theme from the Japanese original."

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader

"At one point, a group of characters parachute into the action, and the camera moves with them, floating past the image of a reptilian eye staring at them through the ochre-tinged smoke, without a hint of pity. There’s a problem with that last moment, though -- one that speaks to a bigger problem with the movie. Alexandre Desplat wrote a rousing score for this 'Godzilla,' but the parachute scene instead brings in György Ligeti’s 'Requiem,' best known as the trippy music that plays after Keir Dullea heads into the monolith at the end of '2001: A Space Odyssey.' It’s borrowed seriousness."

Keith Phipps, The Dissolve

"While the monsters are computer-generated, the destroyed landscapes come via old-school model-making. The combination makes for fantastic visuals, especially in 3-D. The experience is made even more threatening with an exceptional musical score by Alexandre Desplat ('Argo')."

Tony Hicks, San Jose Mercury News

"To Edward's [sic] credit, the G-guy, when we actually get to see him, isn't too shabby: With his tiny, id-brain head and slow-moving, free-thinking tail, he looks prehistoric enough to make you forget, at least briefly, that he was probably created on a $2,000 laptop. He has a great moment when he looms, glamorously and ominously, from behind a row of orange-red lanterns strung up in San Francisco's Chinatown: They tremble in the air, their cheerful serenity disrupted by the vibration of his bad-mood footsteps and even more punishing glare. (It helps that Alexandre Desplat's score bears fossil-footprint echoes of Akira Ifukube's original 'Godzilla March,' one of the grandest pieces of movie music ever written and one befitting a 350-foot legend.)"

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice

"By contrast, craft and technical contributions are absolutely splendid in all respects. Composer Alexandre Desplat's score fulfills the generic requirements but often goes beyond them to add extra excitement and grace notes."

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

THE IMMIGRANT - Christopher Spelman

"'The Immigrant' looks and sounds spectacular, with fog-bound cinematography by Darius Khondji (who has experience lighting Cotillard’s fascinating face from his work on Woody Allen’s 'Midnight in Paris') and a lavish musical score by Chris Spelman, which incorporates cues from 9th-century opera and uses an old-fashioned melodic leitmotif to accompany Ewa’s frequent reaffirmations of her resolve to endure. I’m not quite sure why The Immigrant, with its three strong lead performances and richly evoked period setting, kept me at such emotional distance throughout, admiring the film’s technical artistry while resisting its dramatic pull. I wanted to fall under this movie’s spell as if watching one of those early 20th -century immigrant melodramas -- instead, it felt like visiting a meticulously appointed but too-tidy historical museum."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

"With its rich, operatic score and pristine production values, the movie recalls Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in America' and other rich immigrant period pieces. The film cuts through the mythology to offer an uncompromising vision that regards the decision to immigrate, to become a stranger in a strange land, as the brave, difficult one it is."

Robert Levin, AM New York

"All of which is part of the point Mr. Gray is making about America and equally about the art form to which he is so passionately attached. Crude manipulation sits side by side with exquisite subtlety; tawdriness is all mixed up with beauty, meanness with tenderness. Like his other movies, 'The Immigrant' is messy and glorious, a potboiler with the soul of a tragedy, a Dreiserian opera. (The lush musical score is by Chris Spelman)."

A.O. Scott, New York Times

"As Cotillard's Eva resorts to selling her body for Phoenix's Bruno, who loves and protects her even as he exploits her, 'The Immigrant' plays like an old-fashioned but subdued melodrama, with a pleasingly ripe musical score and scenes full of big emotions performed at a hushed pitch."

Jon Frosch, The Atlantic

"'The Immigrant' unfolds at its own pace, building slowly, perhaps even tediously for some, toward its emotionally cathartic conclusion. This classical approach harks back not only to the silent cinema of the period but also to the ’70s masters Gray holds dear, calling to mind the Lower East Side as seen in such films as 'Once Upon a Time in America' and 'The Godfather: Part II.' Meanwhile, the score marries composer Chris Spelman’s tasteful theme with timeless cues from the likes of Wagner and Puccini -- a clue as to the operatic spirit to which the picture aspires."

Peter Debruge, Variety

JEUNE & JOLIE - Philippe Rombi

"Shot with a steady gaze and an absence of fussy movement by Pascal Marti, and edited with graceful fluidity by Laure Gardette, the production has impeccable visual crispness, echoed in Ozon’s judicious use of Philippe Rombi’s melancholy orchestral score."

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

THE RETRIEVAL - Matthew Wiedemann

"But 'The Retrieval' is only useful in the style of a history textbook; Eska's script is more a report of his research, largely devoid of significance beyond inoffensively rendering historical events. Likewise, Yasu Tanida's cinematography and Matthew Wiedemann's piano-driven score are requisite presentations of the material that offers little by way of enlivening Eska's dutiful historiography."

Clayton Dillard, Slant Magazine

"Yasu Tanida’s sharp, evocative lensing and the period-appropriate score by Matthew Wiedermann and Jon Attwood are just two elements that give 'The Retrieval' a technical polish that belies any budgetary restraints. Some observers are bound to make much of the pic’s passing similarities to Quentin Tarantino’s 'Django Unchained.' But film buffs with longer memories may be more inclined to note visual and tonal echoes of Peter Fonda’s 'The Hired Hand,' particularly during a closing scene that has the same melancholy effect Fonda achieved in his classic 1971 Western."

Joe Leydon, Variety

"With a few labored metaphors and some superficial, coincidental similarities to 'Django Unchained' aside, Eska has crafted an eloquently insightful narrative distilling the lesser recognized conflicts of the Civil War into an intense historical drama. Cinematographer Yasu Tanida’s capably captured visuals and counterintuitive musical compositions by Matt Wiedemann and Jon Attwood put a keen edge on Eska’s distinctive filmmaking."